Student Spotlight - Chaisson Allen, MSED Sport Administration

After five years of playing professional basketball in Europe, University of Miami Men’s Basketball Player Development Assistant Chaisson Allen was ready to begin his career off the court. After returning to the states, Allen was offered a position with The University of Miami’s men basketball team and was quickly promoted from graduate assistant to player development assistant. He also chose to assist his new career by pursuing a MSED in Sport Administration with The University of Miami’s online graduate programs.

“When I finished playing basketball I decided to come back to the states and get my masters. I choose sport administration because I knew that was the field I wanted to go into. I wanted to learn about the industry more in-depth and learn more about areas such as sport law.”

As a student-athlete at Northeastern University, Allen was honored twice by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, was a three-time CAA All-Defensive team honoree and as leading defensive end was inducted into Northeastern University’s Hall of Fame. It was at Northeastern that he also began to develop the business and management skills that would later help him excel as a member of the men’s basketball staff at Miami.

In 2016, Allen joined the University of Miami’s men basketball staff, led by Coach Jim Larranga, where he currently assists in helping members of the basketball team succeed as athletes and students. As an employee of the University, Allen decided to take advantage of the university’s well-respected online sport administration program.

The program provided the flexibility Allen required as a full-time professional as well as allowed him to develop a more in-depth understanding of the sport industry in areas he had not previously been exposed to, such as sport law.

In the classroom Allen has enjoyed building off the marketing and business courses he learned as an undergraduate as well as interacting with a geographically and professionally diverse group of students.

“The program is great because it allows you to converse and learn from other people around the country. It gives you the opportunity to converse with people who want to different things and have different perspectives. “

As a student Allen has developed the tools he needed to navigate the business side of men’s basketball. After graduation, he hopes to continue his career in college athletics.

“After I graduate I plan to continue to be in college basketball. I have been lucky enough to be taken under the wing of the one the greatest coaches in college basketball. I plan on sticking around Miami and staying in the college basketball world.”